StarTools

Hi all,

I guess an astrophotographer who hasn’t photographed the Pleiades is not a real astrophotographer, no? (Of course, except for our friends living under southern skies.) After weeks of cloudy nights there has been one single clear night and so I gave it a try.


Technical details: https://www.astrobin.com/hriyut/0/

Not sure if the ancient Greek sisters are happy with being separated from their famous parents Atlas and Pleione, but the FOV of my setup is too small and therefore I had to set priorities.

Seeing was terrible and wind blasts shook the scope and so only about 60% of the subs have been usable. But I won’t complain, I’m quite satisfied with the result, nonetheless.

As for processing with ST: This time signal was strong enough, so OptiDev did a great job in bringing out the reflection nebulae while keeping the bright stars under control. No ROI, Gamma pushed to 1.55. A touch of Contrast with Locality reduced to only 6%. A touch of HDR with reduced Detail Boost settings. A touch of Sharp with reduced Amout at 105%. SV-Decon did a great job with the details of the nebula as well as with the stars and the diffraction spikes! Super Structure with reduced strength at 60%. All in all – processing with ST was a piece of cake.

Best regards, Dietmar.

Dietmar,
Wow sensational image of a southern favourite
Star colours are excellent and you’ve exposed loads of dust and nebulosity.
The background has a perfect balance
Considering poor local conditions and using a DSLR with some obvious limitations, this image is top shelf stuff

I concur with your comment about Startools , it just works. All the hard work is behind the scenes and there’s no second guessing. A beautifully designed and engineered piece of Astro software !!

Well done !!

Martin

Hi Dietmar,

I agree with Martin: awesome image. Very tastefully processed. Stars are great, especially the bright ones. Lots of dust and good dynamic range. Noise handled well. Congrats!

Regards
Stefan

Thank you Martin!

Startrek wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2024 1:30 am using a DSLR with some obvious limitations

Absolutely true, it cannot compete with dedicated astro cams. No way. But I think it works much better than older EOS models, at least as far as I can see.

Startrek wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2024 1:30 am A beautifully designed and engineered piece of Astro software !!

Sure, agreed! Sometimes we are discussing minor issues and forget to emphasize all the great advantages StarTools offers.

Dietmar.

Stefan B wrote: ↑Thu Dec 05, 2024 7:13 am Very tastefully processed.

Far too kind Thank you. The data would have allowed for a more aggressive processing, but I guess, that's just not my kind. Most times

Best regards, Dietmar.

Excellent Sinterklaas Pleiades!

admin wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2024 5:29 am Excellent Sinterklaas Pleiades!

Oh, should I have put the picture into my shoe? Anyway, dank je wel!

Dietmar.